I love Champ. I think Champ's a great player. I also think that Champ is overrated.

So how much is too much to pay Champ?

The Post reported that:

The Washington Redskins have made a contract proposal to Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey that includes a signing bonus of about $14.75 million, sources familiar with the negotiations said yesterday. The deal would make Bailey the highest-paid cornerback and one of the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL.

Now without knowing any details of the contract, it 's hard to say whether or not we are overpaying for him. However the fact that it is more than any other DB in the league causes me immediate concern. This is where we start in contract negotiations? I miss Joe Mendes already. Here's the list of top 10 CB salaries that Bailey is 'topping'

You think we're going to pay any less for Lavar? This kind of money will make it very difficult to keep both Champ and Lavar or make it so that doing so, just cripples the Redskins as far as doing anything else.

Regardless of how they work the contract to lessen the immediate cap blow... if you're going to be paying LA and CB 7-10 mil each per season out of 75 million total cap..... you do the math.

Here are the figures for franchise and transitional tags in 2003: Cornerback F-$5,962,000 T-$4,838,000

So I wanna know... how much is too much? What should we pay for Mr. Bailey? Have we already surpassed it? How much further would you go?

Bailey is good. One of the best, but not THE BEST. Neither is Ty Law. He only got paid that much because they won the Super Bowl. Bailey should get paid 7 to 8 million a year for a 10 year contract. That's fair to me. That signing bonus is excessive, so is Coles'. I think Bailey is being really selfish when he says he'll consider ending contract talks BEFORE THE SEASON EVEN STARTS!!!!! All I can say is, wait until we have to work on LaVar's contract!

Quick response, but I certainly wouldn't go much higher than this--it's a pretty fair opening bid (and closing bid), if you ask me.

I do NOT think Champ should be one of the highest paid defensive players out there--he just doesn't impact enough of the field.

But I do believe that the cap is an ever-increasing creature, and so in a few years we'll have more cap room by virtue of the fact that the ceiling will be raised. If we structure it right, this (and LaVar's contract) might not have as great an impact as it would seem.

But I do believe that the cap is an ever-increasing creature, and so in a few years we'll have more cap room by virtue of the fact that the ceiling will be raised.

Why do you say that brother? The current collective bargaining agreement has the rules set until 2007 which is at present... an uncapped year. The salary cap is always a percentage of the leagues Defined Gross Revenues (DGR) and they are firmly established for the next 4 years:

The owners will NEVER play a season without a cap and will lock the players out if a new CBA isn't reached by 2007. As a fan, while I hate the cap, it's the only thing that keeps games moderately affordable. Rampant salaries in other leagues without such a stringent cap are driving them into the ground.

So where is the raise in the ceiling that you talk about going to come from? It's not like the NFL is going to make a substantially huge increase of DGR to increase the cap any significant number.

If you're talking about after 2007... wWe're going to be in trouble long before then. Arrington, Bailey, Trotter, Thomas, Samuels, Coles... start looking at what they're slated to make in 2005 and beyond and you realize we just won't be able to keep them all and field a 53 man roster.

In my opinion anyway. I'm no cap expert but i follow it a lot closer than most do.

Champ....wow. He's worth a lot more than wut he's getting but I don't know if he's worth that much. I want him here badly and he has a huge impact in every game. HOW? No one throws at him. I think we have a lot of OVERPAID players on our team who aren't producing. And I think the one play who deserved an increase was let go..., Gardener.

They did last year... and burned him quite a few times. obviously teams will look to the other side first... but he hasn't played well enough of late to make the other team scared. He has it in him though I think. At those kind of dollars... he better eliminate half the field... you may only have enough money to buy 5 players

Forbes has the Redskins worth around 1 billion,...... I wonder how much of that is attributed to the value that Champ Baily brings to the team, (of course, as long as he can run fast). I wonder whose autographs and Redskin jersey, sales are in the top 5 sold, and sought after.

Who is the most consistent, reliable, injury free redskin on defense, or on the team; for the past 5 years.
Because we all know at some point, he will be treated as worthless, yesterday news , screw him and his family after he has dedicated his life and sacrificed his body and health for the redskins and Sports Entertainment.

A free market Negotiation where a Man's worth and value is ONLY as good as his last play; Or perceived value, to a particular system(Stephen Davis).

A Player in the NFL, of Champ Baily's character, with his ability...............Selfish and/or Over Paid,.......... in sports entertainment,.....SELFISH......... I'm not so sure about that. Dana stubblefied overpaid, Dieon, overpaid, champ definetly not overpaid, Heath shuler overpaid, Westbrook overpaid, Trotter overpaid, that strong safety we got back a couple of years ago OVERPAID, Tom Carter overpaid, desmond howard overpaid, ........CHAMP BAILEY underpaid, under appreciated, under valued, under used, he does nothing but produce results.

But I do see how a Fan can, jump to that irrational thought. (myself Included).

Lets us become aware,... this is not Jack Kent Cooks NFL anymore, but the New Snyder NFL, and if this is the (NFL=Strictly Business ERA),
then thank GOD we have SNYDER , but Also CHAMP better make DAMN sure he knows what he is Worth, and demand it, while he can still run fast around the football field, his Jersey selling, and he is filling stadium seats.

: If Champ had Fred Smoots attitude, or warren Sapp's mouth, or Dieon Sanders flare, he would have already been signed at his asking price, and it would be regarded as the best CB in the league, by all the so called media experts. Just look at how much press the redskins have been getting over past couple of years. Hell we've been the talk of the NFL with out barely winning anything, For years.

Forbes has the Redskins worth around 1 billion,...... I wonder how much of that is attributed to the value that Champ Baily brings to the team, (of course, as long as he can run fast). I wonder whose autographs and Redskin jersey, sales are in the top 5 sold, and sought after.

IMO, Champ has NOTHING to do with the team's financial worth. It wouldn't matter how many little 24 jereys were running around either... the league splits all merchandise revenue evenly among the teams.

Who is the most consistent, reliable

He was very subpar last year, I fail to see the consistency in that.

Because we all know at some point, he will be treated as worthless, yesterday news , screw him and his family after he has dedicated his life and sacrificed his body and health for the redskins and Sports Entertainment.

Oh please. Do you think he does it for free? He and his family are pretty well looked after thanks to the money he is paid.

Were you at training camp? 'Cause if you were, you'd realize that walking around and whining to WHOEVER will listen that your underpaid and unhappy is... selfish (or self serving at least). Are you basing your observations on what you remember about Champ from the past or things that you have witnessed? Because I've witnessed the new Champ attitude live and in color.

CHAMP BAILEY underpaid, under appreciated, under valued, under used, he does nothing but produce results

How do you figure? We just offered to make him the highest paid CB in the league... how is that 'underpaid, underappreciated and under valued' ?

Under used? Well we saw what happened last year when we tried to use him for anything other than defense.

while he can still run fast around the football field, his Jersey selling, and he is filling stadium seats

Filling seats? New fans don't get seats... you have to have been on the season ticket waiting list quite some time beofre you can get tickets... this is a Redskin phenomenon that started LONG before Champ.

Just look at how much press the redskins have been getting over past couple of years. Hell we've been the talk of the NFL with out barely winning anything, For years.

And that's because of Champ? Funny how it also corresponds with the arrival of Snyder. And the only thing the press ever do is SLAG the Redskins in the media... where's the value in that?

I guess we should all gather round and genuflect to the saint they call Champ Bailey for putting up with the pittance we pay him... and having to play football for a living...

... and it's that kind of logic that will have us overpaying Champ, and crippling this franchise salary cap wise for years to come.

... and all this for a guy who wasn't giving kids and fans alike the time of day at training camp to sign an autograph.

It hasn't just been the last year. He's been like this since his 2nd year in the league in 2000. Dan Wilkinson's wife let my mom and I go in the player parking lot, and he signed 2 things, I don't remember what, but I went up to him again to get the last (third) thing signed and he said, "I already signed two things". He did sign a couple of autographs at camp this year, though.

You know - if I didn't know better I would say that was Champ himself writing that letter in here.

Good Lord.

He gets paid 100 times what I do for 1 year and someone thinks he is underpaid?

The Skins are offering an average of 6.5 million per year for 9 years and he is underappreciated?

The man blew a tackle in the Patriots game - the one that he penetrated the line and hit the back in the backfield who then scampered in for a TD while Champ picked himself off of the grass. Just a mistake you say? For six and a half friggin million a year on a limited salary roster - he CAN'T make mistakes. He HAS to be a superman. He HAS to make tackles ALL the time. And for that special fan out there who believes that Champ is worth more - at this rate - he will be just under TEN percent of the salary cap. ONE player - Ten percent.

He is very good. I don't know that he is the best. I don't know if he will ever be the best with the attitude that he is copping right now. The isn't even the annoying Neon Deion attitude. This is whiny crybaby, pay me more more more attitude and frankly, I hope the Skins make it a take it or leave it amount of pay and tag him if he turns it down. Maybe we can get two draft picks for him and watch some other team have to deal with a poisonous attitude when it starts to show itself.

Just my two cents.

Rich in Roanoke

Rich in Roanoke
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Let others hail the rising sun:
I bow to that whose course is run

So where is the raise in the ceiling that you talk about going to come from?

With the annual increase in the DGR. Sure, the percentages aren't due to change until a new CBA is reached for 2007 and beyond, but the base pool is growing while the salaries we negotiate now would remain fixed. So while a $7.5 million salary in 2003 might be 10% of the cap, in 2006 it might only be, say, 8.8%. Might not seem like much, but that extra savings would allow us to sign more guys in the future or help cover the expenses of our mongo contracts.

So I'm really not talking about the CBA at all or the extension thereto after 2007--of course the league ain't gonna go to a new model. They'd be NUTS to do so--there's a reason this is the most successful professional sports league in North America in the 21st century (can't really speak for British soccer, so I won't say that for sure ).

All this should be taken with the grain of salt that I'm definitely no cap expert--I only keep any kind of tabs because it's such a significant part of the league. Normally I'm pretty about such things, I'm afraid.